Methods and systems for monitoring and controlling order message traffic

ABSTRACT

Example methods, systems, and tangible computer readable storage media disclosed herein provide for tracking of order messages. An example method includes tracking, using a computing device, an order message, the order message including an order for a tradeable object in a trading market. The trading market includes an inside market. The example method includes determining, using the computing device, whether the order is directed to the inside market of the trading market. If the order is determined to be directed to the inside market, the example method includes adjusting a weighting factor to decrease a message ratio. The message ratio compares a weighted order message total to a fill total. If the order is determined to be directed away from the inside market, the example method includes adjusting a weighting factor to increase the message ratio. The example method includes determining, using the computing device, if the message ratio satisfies a message ratio threshold. The example method includes implementing, using the computing device, message ratio handling if the message ratio satisfies the message ratio threshold.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/743,208, filed Jan. 16, 2013, the contents of which are fullyincorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

An electronic trading system generally includes a trading device incommunication with an electronic exchange. The electronic exchange sendsinformation about a trading market, such as prices and quantities, tothe trading device. The trading device sends messages, such as messagesrelated to orders, to the electronic exchange. The electronic exchangeattempts to match quantity of an order with quantity of one or morecontra-side orders.

Some messages and/or orders sent by the trading device to the electronicexchange may adversely impact the trading market. For example, messagesattempting to place an order with a large price difference from a bestbid or offer in the trading market may decrease trading marketliquidity. In some examples, submitting orders and deleting the ordersmay decrease trading market liquidity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Certain embodiments are disclosed with reference to the followingdrawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram representative of an exampleelectronic trading system in which certain embodiments may be employed.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of another example electronic tradingsystem in which certain embodiments may be employed.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example computing device whichmay be used to implement the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a trading strategy which may beemployed with certain disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method for trackingorder messages using message ratios.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method for settingmessage tracking settings.

FIG. 7 illustrates another flow diagram of an example method fortracking order messages.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method for presentingwarnings associated with tracking order messages.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example messaging monitoringand control system to facilitate tracking of order messages.

Certain embodiments will be better understood when read in conjunctionwith the provided figures, which illustrate examples. It should beunderstood, however, that the embodiments are not limited to thearrangements and instrumentality shown in the attached figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Trading devices communicate order messages to exchanges to buy or selltradeable objects. Order messages may include, for example, commands toplace orders to buy or sell tradable objects, commands to initiatemanaging orders according to a defined trading strategy, and/or commandsto change or cancel previously submitted orders. It is desirable for anorder message attempting to place an order to buy a particular tradableobject to be filled at the exchange. If an order associated with anorder message is not filled, it is desirable for the order to be withinthe inside market, or close to the inside market. The inside market isdefined as a range between the lowest available ask price and thehighest available bid price in a trading market. Orders within theinside market facilitate trading market liquidity. Trading marketliquidity is the ability of a tradeable object to be sold withoutcausing a significant movement in the price and with minimum loss ofvalue.

In some examples, it is undesirable for orders in order messages to beoutside of the inside market because such orders are unlikely to befilled. It may be undesirable for an excessive amount of order messagesto be sent to exchanges. It may be undesirable for orders in ordermessages to be sent and then altered and/or deleted (e.g., orders thatare sent and then immediately deleted in another order message). Suchundesirable order messages adversely affect electronic trading systems(e.g., including exchanges, trading devices, etc.). For example,undesirable order messages can adversely impact exchange and/or tradingdevice bandwidth. Orders outside of the inside market may causeexchanges to adjust price distributions in the trading market.

Examples disclosed herein provide a messaging monitoring and controlsystem to encourage order messages being sent that improve tradingmarkets (e.g., orders within the inside market that increase tradingmarket liquidity) and to discourage order messages being sent thatadversely affect trading markets and/or trading systems (e.g., ordersthat are outside of the inside market that decrease trading marketliquidity). An example messaging monitoring and control system disclosedherein determines a message ratio for a user (e.g., a trader). In someexamples, the message ratio compares a weighted message total to a filltotal. In some examples, a message ratio having a large amount ofweighted total messages and a small amount of fills is penalized. Insome examples, a trading system with a message ratio having a smallamount of weighted total messages and a large amount of total fills isrewarded.

In some examples, when order messages are sent that improve tradingmarkets (e.g., increase trading market liquidity), the message ratio iscredited. In some examples, order messages are weighted such that ordermessages with orders that are filled decrease the weighted order messagetotal by one full order and order messages with orders that are withinthe inside market decrease the weighted order message total by one halfof an order. For example, an order message with an order that is filledis weighted as “−1” and an order message with an order within the insidemarket is weighted as “−0.5.”

In some examples, when order messages are sent that adversely affecttrading markets, the message ratio is debited. In some examples, ordermessages are weighted such that order messages with orders that arefarther outside of the inside market count as more messages. Forexample, an order message with an order that is one ticks away from theinside market increases the weighted message total by “1” and an ordermessage with an order that is two ticks away from the inside marketincreases the weighted message total by “1.5.”

Example messaging monitoring and control systems disclosed herein areimplemented by different participants of trading systems. In someexamples, an example messaging monitoring and control system isimplemented by an exchange to track order messages by trading firm. Insome examples, an example messaging monitoring and control system isimplemented by a trading firm to track order messages by trader.

Although this description discloses embodiments including, among othercomponents, software executed on hardware, it should be noted that theembodiments are merely illustrative and should not be considered aslimiting. For example, it is contemplated that any or all of thesehardware and software components may be embodied exclusively inhardware, exclusively in software, exclusively in firmware, or in anycombination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Accordingly, certainembodiments may be implemented in other ways.

I. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

Example methods, systems, and tangible computer readable storage mediadisclosed herein provide for tracking of order messages. An examplemethod includes tracking, using a computing device, an order message,the order message including an order for a tradeable object in a tradingmarket. The trading market includes an inside market. The example methodincludes determining, using the computing device, whether the order isdirected to the inside market of the trading market. If the order isdetermined to be directed to the inside market, the example methodincludes adjusting a weighting factor to decrease a message ratio. Themessage ratio compares a weighted order message total to a fill total.If the order is determined to be directed away from the inside market,the example method includes adjusting a weighting factor to increase themessage ratio. The example method includes determining, using thecomputing device, if the message ratio satisfies a message ratiothreshold. The example method includes implementing, using the computingdevice, message ratio handling if the message ratio satisfies themessage ratio threshold.

An example system includes a message identifying module to track anorder message, the order message including an order for a tradeableobject in a trading market. The trading market includes an insidemarket. The example system includes a ratio calculator module todetermine whether the order is directed to the inside market of thetrading market. If the order is determined to be directed to the insidemarket, the example ratio calculator module is to adjust a weightingfactor to decrease a message ratio. The message ratio compares aweighted order message total to a fill total. If the order is determinedto be directed away from the inside market, the example ratio calculatormodule is to adjust a weighting factor to increase the message ratio.The example system includes a threshold comparator module to determineif the message ratio satisfies a message ratio threshold. The examplesystem includes a warning module to implement message ratio handling ifthe message ratio satisfies the message ratio threshold.

An example tangible computer readable storage medium comprisesinstructions that, when executed, cause a computing device to track anorder message, the order message including an order for a tradeableobject in a trading market. The trading market includes an insidemarket. The example instructions cause the computing device to determinewhether the order is directed to the inside market of the tradingmarket. If the order is determined to be directed to the inside market,the example instructions cause the computing device to adjust aweighting factor to decrease a message ratio. The message ratio comparesa weighted order message total to a fill total. If the order isdetermined to be directed away from the inside market, the exampleinstructions cause the computing device to adjust a weighting factor toincrease the message ratio. The example instructions cause the computingdevice to determine if the message ratio satisfies a message ratiothreshold. The example instructions cause the computing device toimplement message ratio handling if the message ratio satisfies themessage ratio threshold.

II. EXAMPLE ELECTRONIC TRADING SYSTEM

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram representative of an exampleelectronic trading system 100 in which certain embodiments may beemployed. The system 100 includes a trading device 110, a gateway 120,and an exchange 130. The trading device 110 is in communication with thegateway 120. The gateway 120 is in communication with the exchange 130.As used herein, the phrase “in communication” encompasses directcommunication and/or indirect communication through one or moreintermediary components. The exemplary electronic trading system 100depicted in FIG. 1 may be in communication with additional components,subsystems, and elements to provide additional functionality andcapabilities without departing from the teaching and disclosure providedherein.

In operation, the trading device 110 may receive trading market datafrom the exchange 130 through the gateway 120. A user may utilize thetrading device 110 to monitor this trading market data and/or base adecision to send an order message to buy or sell one or more tradeableobjects to the exchange 130.

Trading market data may include data about a trading market for atradeable object. For example, trading market data may include theinside market, market depth, last traded price (“LTP”), a last tradedquantity (“LTQ”), or a combination thereof. The inside market is thelowest available ask price (best offer) and the highest available bidprice (best bid) in the trading market for a particular tradable objectat a particular point in time (since the inside market may vary overtime). Market depth refers to quantities available at the inside marketand at other prices away from the inside market. Due to the quantityavailable, there may be “gaps” in market depth.

A tradeable object is anything which may be traded. For example, acertain quantity of the tradeable object may be bought or sold for aparticular price. A tradeable object may include, for example, financialproducts, stocks, options, bonds, future contracts, currency, warrants,funds derivatives, securities, commodities, swaps, interest rateproducts, index-based products, traded events, goods, or a combinationthereof. A tradeable object may include a product listed and/oradministered by an exchange (for example, the exchange 130), a productdefined by the user, a combination of real or synthetic products, or acombination thereof. There may be a synthetic tradeable object thatcorresponds and/or is similar to a real tradeable object.

An order message is a message that includes a trade order. A trade ordermay be, for example, a command to place an order to buy or sell atradeable object, a command to initiate managing orders according to adefined trading strategy, a command to change or cancel a previouslysubmitted order (for example, modify a working order), an instruction toan electronic exchange relating to an order, or a combination thereof.

The trading device 110 may include one or more electronic computingplatforms. For example, the trading device 110 may include a desktopcomputer, hand-held device, laptop, server, a portable computing device,a trading terminal, an embedded trading system, a workstation, analgorithmic trading system such as a “black box” or “grey box” system,cluster of computers, or a combination thereof. As another example, thetrading device 110 may include a single or multi-core processor incommunication with a memory or other storage medium configured toaccessibly store one or more computer programs, applications, libraries,computer readable instructions, and the like, for execution by theprocessor.

As used herein, the phrases “configured to” and “adapted to” encompassthat an element, structure, or device has been modified, arranged,changed, or varied to perform a specific function or for a specificpurpose.

By way of example, the trading device 110 may be implemented as apersonal computer running a copy of X_TRADER®, an electronic tradingplatform provided by Trading Technologies International, Inc. ofChicago, Ill. (“Trading Technologies”). As another example, the tradingdevice 110 may be a server running a trading application providingautomated trading tools such as ADL™, AUTOSPREADER®, and/or AUTOTRADER™,also provided by Trading Technologies. In yet another example, thetrading device 110 may include a trading terminal in communication witha server, where collectively the trading terminal and the server are thetrading device 110.

The trading device 110 is generally owned, operated, controlled,programmed, configured, or otherwise used by a user. As used herein, thephrase “user” may include, but is not limited to, a human (for example,a trader), trading group (for example, group of traders), or anelectronic trading device (for example, an algorithmic trading system).One or more users may be involved in the ownership, operation, control,programming, configuration, or other use, for example.

The trading device 110 may include one or more trading applications. Asused herein, a trading application is an application that facilitates orimproves electronic trading. A trading application provides one or moreelectronic trading tools. For example, a trading application stored by atrading device may be executed to arrange and display trading marketdata in one or more trading windows. In another example, a tradingapplication may include an automated spread trading applicationproviding spread trading tools. In yet another example, a tradingapplication may include an algorithmic trading application thatautomatically processes an algorithm and performs certain actions, suchas placing an order, modifying an existing order, deleting an order. Inyet another example, a trading application may provide one or moretrading screens. A trading screen may provide one or more trading toolsthat allow interaction with one or more trading markets. For example, atrading tool may allow a user to obtain and view trading market data,set order entry parameters, submit order messages to an exchange, deploytrading algorithms, and/or monitor positions while implementing varioustrading strategies. The electronic trading tools provided by the tradingapplication may always be available or may be available only in certainconfigurations or operating modes of the trading application.

A trading application may include computer readable instructions thatare stored in a computer readable medium and executable by a processor.A computer readable medium may include various types of volatile andnon-volatile storage media, including, for example, random accessmemory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electricallyprogrammable read-only memory, electrically erasable read-only memory,flash memory, any combination thereof, or any other tangible datastorage device. As used herein, the term non-transitory or tangiblecomputer readable medium is expressly defined to include any type ofcomputer readable storage media and to exclude propagating signals.

One or more components or modules of a trading application may be loadedinto the computer readable medium of the trading device 110 from anothercomputer readable medium. For example, the trading application (orupdates to the trading application) may be stored by a manufacturer,developer, or publisher on one or more CDs or DVDs, which are thenloaded onto the trading device 110 or to a server from which the tradingdevice 110 retrieves the trading application. As another example, thetrading device 110 may receive the trading application (or updates tothe trading application) from a server, for example, via the Internet oran internal network. The trading device 110 may receive the tradingapplication or updates when requested by the trading device 110 (forexample, “pull distribution”) and/or un-requested by the trading device110 (for example, “push distribution”).

The trading device 110 may be adapted to send order messages. Forexample, the order messages may be sent to through the gateway 120 tothe exchange 130. As another example, the trading device 110 may beadapted to send order messages to a simulated exchange in a simulationenvironment which does not effectuate real-world trades.

The order messages may be sent at the request of a user. For example, atrader may utilize the trading device 110 to send an order message ormanually input one or more parameters for a trade order (for example, anorder price and/or quantity). As another example, an automated tradingtool provided by a trading application may calculate one or moreparameters for a trade order and automatically send the order message.In some instances, an automated trading tool may prepare the ordermessage to be sent but not actually send it without confirmation from auser.

An order message may be sent in one or more data packets or through ashared memory system. For example, an order message may be sent from thetrading device 110 to the exchange 130 through the gateway 120. Thetrading device 110 may communicate with the gateway 120 using a localarea network, a wide area network, a wireless network, a virtual privatenetwork, a T1 line, a T3 line, an integrated services digital network(“ISDN”) line, a point-of-presence, the Internet, and/or a shared memorysystem, for example.

The gateway 120 may include one or more electronic computing platforms.For example, the gateway 120 may implemented as one or more desktopcomputer, hand-held device, laptop, server, a portable computing device,a trading terminal, an embedded trading system, workstation with asingle or multi-core processor, an algorithmic trading system such as a“black box” or “grey box” system, cluster of computers, or anycombination thereof.

The gateway 120 may facilitate communication. For example, the gateway120 may perform protocol translation for data communicated between thetrading device 110 and the exchange 130. The gateway 120 may process anorder message received from the trading device 110 into a data formatunderstood by the exchange 130, for example. Similarly, the gateway 120may transform trading market data in an exchange-specific formatreceived from the exchange 130 into a format understood by the tradingdevice 110, for example.

The gateway 120 may include a trading application, similar to thetrading applications discussed above, that facilitates or improveselectronic trading. For example, the gateway 120 may include a tradingapplication that tracks orders from the trading device 110 and updatesthe status of the order based on fill confirmations received from theexchange 130. As another example, the gateway 120 may include a tradingapplication that coalesces trading market data from the exchange 130 andprovides it to the trading device 110. In yet another example, thegateway 120 may include a trading application that provides riskprocessing, calculates implieds, handles order processing, handlestrading market data processing, or a combination thereof

In certain embodiments, the gateway 120 communicates with the exchange130 using a local area network, a wide area network, a virtual privatenetwork, a T1 line, a T3 line, an ISDN line, a point-of-presence, theInternet, and/or a shared memory system, for example.

The exchange 130 may be owned, operated, controlled, or used by anexchange entity. Example exchange entities include the CME Group, theLondon International Financial

Futures and Options Exchange, the Intercontinental Exchange, and Eurex.The exchange 130 may include an electronic matching system, such as acomputer, server, or other computing device, which is adapted to allowtradeable objects, for example, offered for trading by the exchange, tobe bought and sold. The exchange 130 may include separate entities, someof which list and/or administer tradeable objects and others whichreceive and match orders, for example. The exchange 130 may include anelectronic communication network (“ECN”), for example.

The exchange 130 may be an electronic exchange. The exchange 130 isadapted to receive order messages and match contra-side trade orders tobuy and sell tradeable objects. Unmatched trade orders may be listed fortrading by the exchange 130. The trade orders may include trade ordersreceived from the trading device 110 or other devices in communicationwith the exchange 130, for example. For example, typically the exchange130 will be in communication with a variety of other trading devices(which may be similar to trading device 110) which also provide tradeorders to be matched.

The exchange 130 is adapted to provide trading market data. Tradingmarket data may be provided in one or more messages or data packets orthrough a shared memory system. For example, the exchange 130 maypublish a data feed to subscribing devices, such as the trading device110 or gateway 120. The data feed may include trading market data.

The system 100 may include additional, different, or fewer components.For example, the system 100 may include multiple trading devices,gateways, and/or exchanges. In another example, the system 100 mayinclude other communication devices, such as middleware, firewalls,hubs, switches, routers, servers, exchange-specific communicationequipment, modems, security managers, and/or encryption/decryptiondevices.

III. EXPANDED EXAMPLE ELECTRONIC TRADING SYSTEM

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of another example electronic tradingsystem 200 in which certain embodiments may be employed. In thisexample, a trading device 210 a is in communication with an exchange 230a through a gateway 220 a. The following discussion mainly focuses onthe trading device 210 a, gateway 220 a, and the exchange 230 a.However, the trading device 210 a may also be connected to andcommunicate with any number of gateways 220 n connected to exchanges 230n. The communication between the trading device 110 a and otherexchanges 230 n may be the same, similar, or different than thecommunication between the trading device 210 a and exchange 230 a.Generally, each exchange has its own preferred techniques and/or formatsfor communicating with a trading device, a gateway, the user, or anotherexchange.

The trading device 210 a, which may be similar to the trading device 110in FIG. 1, may include a server 212 a in communication with a tradingterminal 214 a. The server 212 a may be located geographically closer tothe gateway 120 than the trading terminal 214 a. As a result, the server212 a latency benefits that are not afforded to the trading terminal 214a. In operation, the trading terminal 214 a may provide a trading screento a user and communicate commands to the server 212 a for furtherprocessing. For example, a trading algorithm may be deployed to theserver 212 a for execution based on trading market data. The server 212a may execute the trading algorithm without further input from the user.In another example, the server 212 a may include a trading applicationproviding automated trading tools and communicate back to the tradingterminal 214 a. The trading device 210 a may include, additional,different, or fewer components.

The trading device 210 a may communicate with the gateway 220 a usingone or more communication networks. As used herein, a communicationnetwork is any network, including the Internet, which facilitates orenables communication between, for example, the trading device 210 a,the gateway 220 a and the exchange 220 a. For example, as shown in FIG.2, the trading device 210 a may communicate with the gateway 220 aacross a multicast communication network 202 a. The data on the network202 a may be logically separated by subject (for example, prices,orders, or fills). As a result, the server 212 a and trading terminal214 a can subscribe to and receive data (for example, data relating toprices, orders, or fills) depending on their individual needs.

The gateway 220 a, which may be similar to the gateway 120 of FIG. 1,may include a price server 222 a, order server 224 a, and fill server226 a. The gateway 220 a may include additional, different, or fewercomponents. The price server 222 a may process price data. Price dataincludes data related to a trading market for one or more tradeableobjects. The order server 224 a may process order data. Order data isdata related to a user's trade orders. For example, order data mayinclude order messages, confirmation messages, or other types ofmessages. The fill server collects and provides fill data. Fill dataincludes data relating to one or more fills of trade orders. Forexample, the fill server 226 a may provide a record of trade orders,which have been routed through the order server 224 a, that have andhave not been filled. The servers 222 a, 224 a, 226 a may run on thesame machine or separate machines.

The gateway 220 a may communicate with the exchange 230 a using one ormore communication networks. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, there maybe two communication networks connecting the gateway 220 a and theexchange 230 a. The network 204 a may be used to communicate tradingmarket data to the price server 222 a. In some instances, the exchange230 a may include this data in a data feed that is published tosubscribing devices. The network 206 a may be used to communicate orderdata.

The exchange 230 a, which may be similar to the exchange 130 of FIG. 1,may include an order book 232 a and a matching engine 234 a. Theexchange 230 a may include additional, different, or fewer components.The order book 232 a is a database that includes data relating tounmatched quantity of trade orders. For example, an order book mayinclude data relating to a trading market for a tradeable object, suchas the inside market, market depth at various price levels, the lasttraded price, and the last traded quantity. The matching engine 234 amay match contra-side bids and offers. For example, the matching engine234 a may execute one or more matching algorithms that match contra-sidebids and offers. A sell order is contra-side to a buy order with thesame price. Similarly, a buy order is contra-side to a sell order withthe same price.

In operation, the exchange 230 a may provide price data from the orderbook 232 a to the price server 222 a and order data and/or fill datafrom the matching engine 234 a to the order server 224 a. Servers 222 a,224 a, 226 a may translate and communicate this data back to the tradingdevice 210 a. The trading device 210 a, for example, using a tradingapplication, may process this data. For example, the data may bedisplayed to a user. In another example, the data may be utilized in atrading algorithm to determine whether a trade order should be submittedto the exchange 230 a. The trading device 210 a may prepare and send anorder message to the exchange 230 a.

In certain embodiments, the gateway 220 a is part of the trading device210 a. For example, the components of the gateway 220 a may be part ofthe same computing platform as the trading device 210 a. As anotherexample, the functionality of the gateway 220 a may be performed bycomponents of the trading device 210 a. In certain embodiments, thegateway 220 a is not present. Such an arrangement may occur when thetrading device 210 a does not need to utilize the gateway 220 a tocommunicate with the exchange 230 a, for example. For example, if thetrading device 210 a has been adapted to communicate directly with theexchange 230 a.

Additional trading devices 210 b-210 e, which are similar to tradingdevice 210 a, may be connected to one or more of the gateways 220 a-220n and exchanges 230 a-230 n. Furthermore, additional gateways, similarto the gateway 220 a, may be in communication with multiple exchanges,similar to the exchange 230 a. Each gateway may be in communication withone or more different exchanges, for example. Such an arrangement may,for example, allow one or more trading devices 210 a to trade at morethan one exchange (and/or provide redundant connections to multipleexchanges).

IV. EXAMPLE COMPUTING DEVICE

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example computing device 300which may be used to implement the disclosed embodiments. The tradingdevice 110 of FIG. 1 may include one or more computing devices 300, forexample. The gateway 120 of FIG. 1 may include one or more computingdevices 300, for example. The exchange 130 of FIG. 1 may include one ormore computing devices 300, for example.

The computing device 300 includes a communication network 310, aprocessor 312, a memory 314, an interface 316, an input device 318, andan output device 320. The computing device 300 may include additional,different, or fewer components. For example, multiple communicationnetworks, multiple processors, multiple memory, multiple interfaces,multiple input devices, multiple output devices, or any combinationthereof, may be provided. As another example, the computing device 300may not include an input device 318 or output device 320.

As shown in FIG. 3, the computing device 300 may include a processor 312coupled to a communication network 310. The communication network 310may include a communication bus, channel, electrical or optical network,circuit, switch, fabric, or other mechanism for communicating databetween components in the computing device 300. The communicationnetwork 310 may be communicatively coupled with and transfer databetween any of the components of the computing device 300.

The processor 312 may be any suitable processor, processing unit, ormicroprocessor. The processor 312 may include one or more generalprocessors, digital signal processors, application specific integratedcircuits, field programmable gate arrays, analog circuits, digitalcircuits, programmed processors, and/or combinations thereof, forexample. The processor 312 may be a single device or a combination ofdevices, such as one or more devices associated with a network ordistributed processing. Any processing strategy may be used, such asmulti-processing, multi-tasking, parallel processing, and/or remoteprocessing. Processing may be local or remote and may be moved from oneprocessor to another processor. In certain embodiments, the computingdevice 300 is a multi-processor system and, thus, may include one ormore additional processors which are communicatively coupled to thecommunication network 310.

The processor 312 may be operable to execute logic and other computerreadable instructions encoded in one or more tangible media, such as thememory 314. As used herein, logic encoded in one or more tangible mediaincludes instructions which may be executable by the processor 312 or adifferent processor. The logic may be stored as part of software,hardware, integrated circuits, firmware, and/or micro-code, for example.The logic may be received from an external communication device via acommunication network such as the network 340. The processor 312 mayexecute the logic to perform the functions, acts, or tasks illustratedin the figures or described herein.

The memory 314 may be one or more tangible media, such as computerreadable storage media, for example. Computer readable storage media mayinclude various types of volatile and non-volatile storage media,including, for example, random access memory, read-only memory,programmable read-only memory, electrically programmable read-onlymemory, electrically erasable read-only memory, flash memory, anycombination thereof, or any other tangible data storage device. As usedherein, the term non-transitory or tangible computer readable medium isexpressly defined to include any type of computer readable medium and toexclude propagating signals. The memory 314 may include any desired typeof mass storage device including hard disk drives, optical media,magnetic tape or disk, etc.

The memory 314 may include one or more memory devices. For example, thememory 314 may include local memory, a mass storage device, volatilememory, non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof. The memory 314may be adjacent to, part of, programmed with, networked with, and/orremote from processor 312, so the data stored in the memory 314 may beretrieved and processed by the processor 312, for example. The memory314 may store instructions which are executable by the processor 312.The instructions may be executed to perform one or more of the acts orfunctions described herein or shown in the figures.

The memory 314 may store a trading application 330. In certainembodiments, the trading application 330 may be accessed from or storedin different locations. The processor 312 may access the tradingapplication 330 stored in the memory 314 and execute computer-readableinstructions included in the trading application 330.

In certain embodiments, during an installation process, the tradingapplication may be transferred from the input device 318 and/or thenetwork 340 to the memory 314. When the computing device 300 is runningor preparing to run the trading application 330, the processor 312 mayretrieve the instructions from the memory 314 via the communicationnetwork 310.

V. STRATEGY TRADING

In addition to buying and/or selling a single tradeable object, a usermay trade more than one tradeable object according to a tradingstrategy. One common trading strategy is a spread and trading accordingto a trading strategy may also be referred to as spread trading. Spreadtrading may attempt to capitalize on changes or movements in therelationships between the tradeable object in the trading strategy, forexample.

An automated trading tool may be utilized to trade according to atrading strategy, for example. For example, the automated trading toolmay AUTOSPREADER®, provided by Trading Technologies.

A trading strategy defines a relationship between two or more tradeableobjects to be traded. Each tradeable object being traded as part of atrading strategy may be referred to as a leg or outright market of thetrading strategy.

When the trading strategy is to be bought, the definition for thetrading strategy specifies which tradeable object corresponding to eachleg should be bought or sold. Similarly, when the trading strategy is tobe sold, the definition specifies which tradeable objects correspondingto each leg should be bought or sold. For example, a trading strategymay be defined such that buying the trading strategy involves buying oneunit of a first tradeable object for leg A and selling one unit of asecond tradeable object for leg B. Selling the trading strategytypically involves performing the opposite actions for each leg.

In addition, the definition for the trading strategy may specify aspread ratio associated with each leg of the trading strategy. Thespread ratio may also be referred to as an order size for the leg. Thespread ratio indicates the quantity of each leg in relation to the otherlegs. For example, a trading strategy may be defined such that buyingthe trading strategy involves buying 2 units of a first tradeable objectfor leg A and selling 3 units of a second tradeable object for leg B.The sign of the spread ratio may be used to indicate whether the leg isto be bought (the spread ratio is positive) or sold (the spread ratio isnegative) when buying the trading strategy. In the example above, thespread ratio associated with leg A would be “2” and the spread ratioassociated with leg B would be “−3.”

In some instances, the spread ratio may be implied or implicit. Forexample, the spread ratio for a leg of a trading strategy may not beexplicitly specified, but rather implied or defaulted to be “1” or “−1.”

In addition, the spread ratio for each leg may be collectively referredto as the spread ratio or strategy ratio for the trading strategy. Forexample, if leg A has a spread ratio of “2” and leg B has a spread ratioof “−3”, the spread ratio (or strategy ratio) for the trading strategymay be expressed as “2:-3” or as “2:3” if the sign for leg B is implicitor specified elsewhere in a trading strategy definition.

Additionally, the definition for the trading strategy may specify amultiplier associated with each leg of the trading strategy. Themultiplier is used to adjust the price of the particular leg fordetermining the price of the spread. The multiplier for each leg may bethe same as the spread ratio. For example, in the example above, themultiplier associated with leg A may be “2” and the multiplierassociated with leg B may be “−3,” both of which match the correspondingspread ratio for each leg. Alternatively, the multiplier associated withone or more legs may be different than the corresponding spread ratiosfor those legs. For example, the values for the multipliers may beselected to convert the prices for the legs into a common currency.

The following discussion assumes that the spread ratio and multipliersfor each leg are the same, unless otherwise indicated. In addition, thefollowing discussion assumes that the signs for the spread ratio and themultipliers for a particular leg are the same and, if not, the sign forthe multiplier is used to determine which side of the trading strategy aparticular leg is on.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a trading strategy 410 which maybe employed with certain disclosed embodiments. The trading strategy 410includes “n” legs 420 (individually identified as leg 420 a to leg 420n). The trading strategy 410 defines the relationship between tradeableobjects 422 (individually identified as tradeable object 422 a totradeable object 422 n) of each of the legs 420 a to 420 n using thecorresponding spread ratios 424 a to 424 n and multipliers 426 a to 426n.

Once defined, the tradeable objects 422 in the trading strategy 410 maythen be traded together according to the defined relationship. Forexample, assume that the trading strategy 410 is a spread with two legs,leg 420 a and leg 420 b. Leg 420 a is for tradeable object 422 a and leg420 b is for tradeable object 422 b. In addition, assume that the spreadratio 424 a and multiplier 426 a associated with leg 420 a are “1” andthat the spread ratio 424 b and multiplier 426 b associated with leg 420b are “−1”. That is, the spread is defined such that when the spread isbought, 1 unit of tradeable object 422 a is bought (positive spreadratio, same direction as the spread) and 1 unit of tradeable object 422b is sold (negative spread ratio, opposite direction of the spread). Asmentioned above, typically in spread trading the opposite of thedefinition applies. That is, when the definition for the spread is suchthat when the spread is sold, 1 unit of tradeable object 422 a is sold(positive spread ratio, same direction as the spread) and 1 unit oftradeable object 422 b is bought (negative spread ratio, oppositedirection of the spread).

The price for the trading strategy 410 is determined based on thedefinition. In particular, the price for the trading strategy 410 istypically the sum of price the legs 420 comprising the tradeable objects422 multiplied by corresponding multipliers 426. The price for a tradingstrategy may be affected by price tick rounding and/or pay-up ticks.However, both of these implementation details are beyond the scope ofthis discussion and are well-known in the art.

Recall that, as discussed above, a real spread may be listed at anexchange, such as exchange 130 and/or 230, as a tradeable product. Incontrast, a synthetic spread may not be listed as a product at anexchange, but rather the various legs of the spread are tradeable at oneor more exchanges. For the purposes of the following example, thetrading strategy 410 described is a synthetic trading strategy. However,similar techniques to those described below may also be applied by anexchange when a real trading strategy is traded.

Continuing the example from above, if it is expected or believed thattradeable object 422 a typically has a price 10 greater than tradeableobject 422 b, then it may be advantageous to buy the spread whenever thedifference in price between tradeable objects 422 a and 422 b is lessthan 10 and sell the spread whenever the difference is greater than 10.As an example, assume that tradeable object 422 a is at a price of 45and tradeable object 422 b is at a price of 40. The current spread pricemay then be determined to be (1)(45)+(−1)(40)=5, which is less than thetypical spread of 10. Thus, a user may buy 1 unit of the spread, whichresults in buying 1 unit of tradeable object 422 a at a price of 45 andselling 1 unit of tradeable object 422b at 40. At some later time, thetypical price difference may be restored and the price of tradeableobject 422 a is 42 and the price of tradeable object 422 b is 32. Atthis point, the price of the spread is now 10. If the user sells 1 unitof the spread to close out the user's position (that is, sells 1 unit oftradeable object 422 a and buys 1 unit of tradeable object 422 b), theuser has made a profit on the total transaction. In particular, whilethe user bought tradeable object 422 a at a price of 45 and sold at 42,losing 3, the user sold tradeable object 422 b at a price of 40 andbought at 32, for a profit of 8. Thus, the user made 5 on the buying andselling of the spread.

The above example assumes that there is sufficient liquidity andstability that the tradeable objects can be bought and sold at themarket price at approximately the desired times. This allows the desiredprice for the spread to be achieved. However, more generally, a desiredprice at which to buy or sell a particular trading strategy isdetermined. Then, an automated trading tool, for example, attempts toachieve that desired price by buying and selling the legs at appropriateprices. For example, when a user instructs the trading tool to buy orsell the trading strategy 410 at a desired price, the automated tradingtool may automatically place an order (also referred to as quoting anorder) for one of the tradeable objects 422 of the trading strategy 410to achieve the desired price for the trading strategy (also referred toas a desired strategy price, desired spread price, and/or a targetprice). The leg for which the order is placed is referred to as thequoting leg. The other leg is referred to as a lean leg and/or a hedgeleg. The price that the quoting leg is quoted at is based on a targetprice that an order could be filled at in the lean leg. The target pricein the hedge leg is also known as the leaned on price, lean price, orlean level. Typically, if there is sufficient quantity available, thetarget price may be the best bid price when selling and the best askprice when buying. The target price may be different than the best priceavailable if there is not enough quantity available at that price orbecause it is an implied price, for example. As the leaned on pricechanges, the price for the order in the quoting leg may also change tomaintain the desired strategy price.

The leaned on price may also be determined based on a lean multiplierand/or a lean base. A lean multiplier may specify a multiple of theorder quantity for the hedge leg that should be available to lean onthat price level. For example, if a quantity of 10 is needed in thehedge leg and the lean multiplier is 2, then the lean level may bedetermined to be the best price that has at least a quantity of 20available. A lean base may specify an additional quantity above theneeded quantity for the hedge leg that should be available to lean onthat price level. For example, if a quantity of 10 is needed in thehedge leg and the lean base is 5, then the lean level may be determinedto be the best price that has at least a quantity of 15 available. Thelean multiplier and lean base may also be used in combination. Forexample, the lean base and lean multiplier may be utilized such thatlarger of the two is used or they may be used additively to determinethe amount of quantity to be available.

When the quoting leg is filled, the automated trading tool may thensubmit an order in the hedge leg to complete the strategy. This ordermay be referred to as an offsetting or hedging order. The offsettingorder may be placed at the leaned on price or based on the fill pricefor the quoting order, for example. If the offsetting order is notfilled (or filled sufficiently to achieve the desired strategy price),then the strategy order is said to be “legged up” or “legged” becausethe desired strategy relationship has not been achieved according to thetrading strategy definition.

In addition to having a single quoting leg, as discussed above, atrading strategy may be quoted in multiple (or even all) legs. In suchsituations, each quoted leg still leans on the other legs. When one ofthe quoted legs is filled, typically the orders in the other quoted legsare cancelled and then appropriate hedge orders are placed based on thelean prices that the now-filled quoting leg utilized.

VI. MESSAGING MONITORING AND CONTROL

Trading devices communicate order messages to exchanges to buy or selltradeable objects. It is desirable for an order message attempting toplace an order to buy a particular tradable object to be filled at theexchange. If an order associated with order message is not filled, it isdesirable for the position of the order message to be within the insidemarket, or close to the inside market. It is undesirable for ordersassociated with order messages to be outside of the inside marketbecause such orders are unlikely to be filled. It is undesirable for anexcessive amount of order messages to be sent to exchanges. It may beundesirable for order messages to be sent to the exchange andsubsequently altered and/or deleted (e.g., orders that are sent and thenimmediately deleted). Such undesirable order messages may adverselyaffect electronic trading systems (e.g., including exchanges, tradingdevices, etc.) as such order messages may harm trading market liquidity,and impact trading system bandwidth, etc.

Example messaging monitoring and control systems disclosed herein enabletracking of order messages in trading systems and provide mechanism bywhich messaging traffic may be managed to encourage the sending of ordermessages that improve trading markets and discourage the sending oforder messages that adversely affect trading markets. Example messagingmonitoring and control systems disclosed herein implement a mechanismutilizing message ratios and message ratio thresholds to establish areward system that, in turn, encourages efficient messaging and resourceallocation at an exchange. Example message ratios compare weighted ordermessage totals (e.g., the total number of messages communicated to anexchange multiplied by a weighting factor) to a total number of filledtotals. Order messages are weighted so that order messages that improvetrading markets decrease the weighted order message total and ordermessages that do not improve trading markets increase the weighted ordermessage total. In other words, the example mechanism has the effect ofencouraging (e.g., rewarding) the communication of desirable messages(e.g., message that improve the market) to the exchange and discouragingthe communication of less desirable messages (e.g., messages away fromthe inside market or messages that remain in the market for only a briefperiod of time.)

In an example messaging monitoring and control system, a message ratiothreshold defines a limit on weighted order message totals based on filltotals. For example, the message ratio threshold hold could be definedsuch that for every two hundred (200) messages communicated to theexchange, there must be at least one (1) fill. In other words, themessage ratio threshold could be set to a ratio of 200:1. In thisexample, the 200:1 ratio could be determined by summing the adjustedweight of each of the sent messages. The adjusted weight, in turn, canbe calculated by either a positive or negative weighting factor based onthe effect each message has on the market. Thus, as a user trades in atrading market, an example messaging monitoring and control systemtracks the order messages being sent by the user and updates a messageratio for the user. For example, if the user sends many order messageswith orders outside of the inside market (e.g., five ticks off theinside market) and fills few orders in comparison, the user is likely tosatisfy (e.g., exceed) the message ratio threshold. If the user'smessage ratio exceeds the message ratio threshold (e.g., the userreceives fewer than one fill for every two hundred weighted messagessent to the exchange), the user's message traffic is considered to beadverse message traffic and is impermissible and even discouraged.Example penalties for adverse message traffic could include one-timefines, suspension of trading privileges for a period of time, anincrease in trading fees and/or a reduction in the user's tradingpriority. The example messaging monitoring and control system mayalternatively reward or otherwise encourage messaging traffic determinedto be positive message traffic. Example encouragement for disciplinedmessage traffic may include reduced trading fees, an increase in tradingpriority, a refund of trading fees and/or other direct monetaryreimbursement.

In another example messaging monitoring and control system, a messageratio threshold defines a limit on weighted order message totals basedon weighted fill totals. In this example, order messages are weighted sothat order messages that improve trading markets increase the weightedfill total and do not increase the weighted order message totals andorder messages that do not improve trading markets increase the weightedorder message total and do not increase the weighted fill total. Forexample, a fill may increase the weighted fill total by one (1) and anorder message with an order that improves the trading market mayincrease the weighted fill total by a fraction of one (e.g., 0.5). Ordermessages outside of the inside market may increase the weighted ordermessage total. For example, an order one tick off the inside marketincreases the weighted order message total by one (1) and an order twoticks off the inside market increases the weighted order message totalby one and one half (1.5).

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method 500 to trackorder messages using weighted message ratios. Tracking order messagesenables an example messaging monitoring and control system to encourageorder messages to be sent to exchanges that improve trading markets(e.g., order messages with orders within the inside market that increasetrading market liquidity) and to discourage order messages from beingsent to exchanges that adversely affect trading markets and/or tradingsystems (e.g., order messages with orders that are outside of the insidemarket that decrease trading market liquidity). In the illustratedexample, order messages are tracked as they are sent and/or received,and a message ratio is updated. A message ratio compares a weightedorder message total to a fill total. If an order message improves thetrading market, the message ratio is credited. If an order message doesnot improve the trading market, the message ratio is debited. Themessage ratio is compared to a message ratio threshold.

The message ratio threshold may be set to penalize users reaching aparticular amount of order messages per fills and/or set to reward usersreaching a particular amount of fills per order messages. One or moremessage ratio thresholds may be implemented by the example messagingmonitoring and control system to facilitate management of messagingtraffic to the exchange. In an example system, if the message ratiosatisfies (e.g., exceeds) the message ratio threshold (e.g., the messageratio is excessive), a user is notified of the excessive message ratio,and/or a fine and/or a penalty may be assessed. To implement the examplesystem, the message ratio threshold is used to define limits onexcessive order message totals. In an example reward system, if themessage ratio satisfies (e.g., exceeds) the message ratio threshold, auser is rewarded. To implement the example system, the message ratiothreshold is used to define a minimum amount of fills which, ifexceeded, results in a reward for the user. The example system providesdynamic mechanism by which the behavior of automated trading algorithmsmay be influenced to insure the overall efficiency of the market.

Initially, in the illustrated example, message tracking settings are set(block 502). Message tracking settings describe how the examplemessaging monitoring and control system is to be implemented. Themessage tracking settings describe how a message ratio is to becalculated. The message tracking settings describe message counts,message weights, message ratio thresholds, time periods for messagetracking, users to be tracked, etc. In some examples, the messagetracking settings are set by users (e.g., traders), administrators,exchanges, trading firms, etc. Alternatively, the message trackingsettings are set automatically (e.g., default values are used toimplement the messaging monitoring and control system). A method 600 forsetting message tracking settings corresponding to block 502 of FIG. 5is described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 6.

Once message tracking settings are set (block 502), the examplemessaging monitoring and control system tracks order messages and fills(block 504). The example messaging monitoring and control systemmonitors order messages and/or fill confirmations that are sent and/orreceived between, for example, a trading device and an exchange. When anorder message and/or fill confirmation is sent and/or received, theexample messaging monitoring and control system determines if the ordermessage and/or fill confirmation improves the trading market (block506). Fill confirmations confirm that an order associated with an ordermessage was filled. If a fill confirmation is sent and/or received, theexample messaging monitoring and control system determines that thecorresponding order message (e.g., the order message including the orderthat was filled) improves the trading market. If an order message issent and/or received with an order that is within the inside market, theexample messaging monitoring and control system determines that theorder message improves the trading market. If an order associated withan order message is outside or away from the inside market, the examplemessaging monitoring and control system determines that the ordermessage does not improve the trading market. If an order message with anorder is sent and then the order is deleted in a subsequent ordermessage (e.g., the order is deleted within a threshold period of time),the example messaging monitoring and control system determines that theorder message does not improve the trading market.

If an order message improves the trading market, the message ratio iscredited (block 508). The message ratio is credited based on the type oforder message (e.g., an order within the inside market or a fill) usingmessage weights defined by the message tracking settings. In oneexample, the message weight could be a negative factor that when appliedagainst the order message that improves the trading market decreases theweighted order message total by of by half (e.g., a weighting multiplierof −0.5 reduces the value of the favorable order message by −0.5). Table1 depicts an example messaging monitoring and control weighting scheme.Alternate weighting schemes and multipliers may be utilized to encourageand control trade messaging behavior. Similarly, if an order messagedoes not improve the trading market, the message ratio is debited (block510). The message ratio is debited based on the type of order message(e.g., how far the order is from the inside market) using messageweights defined by the message tracking settings. A method 700 formonitoring order messages and determining message ratios correspondingto blocks 504, 506, 508, and 510 of FIG. 5 is described in greaterdetail below with reference to FIG. 7.

TABLE 1 Messaging Monitoring and Control Weighting Scheme PriceDifference From Weighting The Inside Market Multiplier Description Bestbid or best offer −1.0 If the order price is at the best bid or offer,the order message decreases the weighted order message total by one fullorder. None - At the Inside −0.5 If the order price is at the bestMarket bid or offer, the order message decreases the weighted ordermessage total by one half of an order. 1 Tick off the Inside 1.0 If theorder price is one tick Market away from the Inside Market, the ordermessage counts as a full order when calculating the weighted ordermessage total. 2 Ticks off the Inside 1.5 If the order price is twoticks Market away from the Inside Market, the order message increasesthe weighted order message total by one and a half orders.

If the message ratio approaches the message ratio threshold (e.g., alimit on order messages that fail to improve and/or harm the tradingmarket, a minimum number of fills to receive a reward, etc.), theexample messaging monitoring and control system optionally issues awarning or alert associated with the message ratio threshold (block512). The warning or alert is issued to inform a user that the messageratio is approaching the message ratio threshold to aid the user indetermining message orders to be sent in the future (e.g., to encouragethe user to send order messages that improve the trading market and todiscourage the user from sending order messages that harm the tradingmarket). A method 800 for presenting a warning or alert when a messageratio is approaching a message ratio threshold corresponding to block512 of FIG. 5 is described in greater detail below with reference toFIG. 8. In some examples, the process 500 does not include block 512 anda warning associated with the message ratio approaching the messageratio threshold is not issued.

The example messaging monitoring and control system determines if themessage ratio satisfies and/or exceeds the message ratio threshold(block 514). If the message ratio does not exceed the message ratiothreshold, control returns to block 504 and the example messagingmonitoring and control system continues to track order messages and/orfills. If the message ratio exceeds the message ratio threshold (e.g.,too many order messages have been sent that fail to improve and/or harmthe trading market, enough fills have been achieved to receive a reward,etc.), the example messaging monitoring and control system implementsexcessive message ratio handling (block 516). The example messagingmonitoring and control system issues a notification to a user informingthe user that the message ratio associated with order messages beingsent by the user has exceeded the message ratio threshold. In someexamples, the notification is issued on a display of a trading deviceassociated with the user. Additionally or alternatively, the examplemessaging monitoring and control system issues a notification to atrading firm informing the trading firm that the message ratioassociated with order messages being sent by the trading firm (e.g., bymultiple traders of a single trading firm) has exceeded the messageratio threshold. The example messaging monitoring and control system mayissue a fine associated with the excessive message ratio to a userand/or trading firm. The example messaging monitoring and control systemmay issue a reward associated with the excessive message ratio to a userand/or trading firm. Once the example trading system has implemented theexcessive message ratio handling, control returns to block 504 and theexample trading system continues to track order messages and/or fills.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method 600 to setmessage tracking settings. The example method 600 corresponds to block502 of FIG. 5. In some examples, the message tracking settings are setby users (e.g., traders), administrators, exchanges, trading firms, etc.Alternatively, the message tracking settings are set automatically(e.g., default values are used to implement the messaging monitoring andcontrol system). Initially, in the illustrated example, message countsare set (block 602). Message counts describe how order messages are tobe counted. In some examples, each order message, including relatedorder messages, counts as one message. For example, where a first ordermessage is sent and a second order message is sent deleting the order ofthe first order message, the first order message and the second ordermessage each count as one message. Where order messages each count asone message, each order message associated with a spread tradingstrategy counts as one message.

In the illustrated example, message weights are set (block 604). Messageweights describe how order messages are to be weighted when calculatingmessage ratios. An order message that improves a trading market isweighted such that the message ratio improves when the order message isfactored into the message ratio. To improve the message ratio (e.g., tocredit the message ratio), the order message is weighted so that theweighted order message total of the message ratio decreases. In someexamples, order messages are weighted such that order messages withorders that are filled decrease the weighted order message total by one(e.g., −1.0) and order messages with orders that are within the insidemarket decrease the weighted order message total by a fraction of one.For example, an order message with an order that is filled decreases theweighted order message total of the message ratio by “1” and an ordermessage with an order within the inside market decreases the weightedfill total of the message ratio by “0.5.”

An order message that does not improve and/or harms a trading market isweighted such that the message ratio worsens when the order message isfactored into the message ratio. To worsen the message ratio (e.g., todebit the message ratio), the order message is weighted so that theweighted message total of the message ratio increases and the weightedfill total of the message ratio remains constant. In some examples,order messages are weighted such that order messages with orders thatare farther outside of the inside market count as multiple messages inthe weighted message total of the message ratio. For example, an ordermessage with an order that is one tick away from the inside marketincreases the weighted message total by “1.” An order message with anorder that is two ticks away from the inside market increases theweighted message total by “1.5.”

In some examples, message weights are fixed values. Alternatively,message weights may vary based on the user (e.g., more experiencedtraders may be tracked with different message weights than lessexperienced traders). Message weights may vary based on the time of day(e.g., message weights may be different one hour before trading marketsclose than when trading markets open).

In the illustrated example, a message ratio threshold is set (block606). In some examples, to implement a discipline system, the messageratio threshold compares a maximum weighted order message total to afill total. The message ratio threshold may describe a limit of weightedmessages that may be sent when compared to a number of fills. Forexample, the message ratio threshold is set such that when the thresholdis satisfied (e.g., exceeded), excessive ratio handling is implementedto discipline (e.g., punish) users that exceeded the message ratiothreshold. Users are disciplined that have sent too many order messagesthat harm the trading market when compared to the number of fills thatthe users have achieved.

In some examples, to implement a reward system, the message ratiothreshold compares a minimum fill total to a weighted order messagetotal. The message ratio threshold may describe a minimum number offills that may be achieved when compared to a weighted message total.For example, the message ratio threshold is set such that when thethreshold is satisfied (e.g., exceeded), excessive ratio handling isimplemented to reward users that exceeded the message ratio threshold.Users are rewarded that have achieved a sufficient number of fills thatimprove the trading market when compared to the number of order messagesthat have been sent.

In the illustrated example, a tracking time period is set (block 608).The tracking time period describes a time period over which themessaging monitoring and control system will monitor order messages. Insome examples, the tracking time period is one day. Alternatively, thetracking time period may be one week, one month, etc.

In the illustrated example, user tracking is set (block 610). Usertracking settings describe users that are to be tracked by the examplemessaging monitoring and control system. In some examples, particularusers (e.g., traders) are tracked. For example, less experienced usersare tracked. Additionally or alternatively, trading firms arecollectively tracked. For example, traders associated with a tradingfirm are tracked and a message ratio for the trading firm is updatedbased on order messages sent by each of the associated traders.

In the illustrated example, excessive ratio handling is set (block 612).Excessive ratio handling settings describe actions that are to be takenwhen message ratio thresholds are exceeded. A user and/or trading firmis notified when a message ratio threshold is exceeded. In someexamples, where a discipline system is implemented, a user and/ortrading firm is fined (e.g., with a monetary amount) when a messageratio threshold is exceeded. Additionally or alternatively, a userand/or trading firm is suspended from trading when a message ratiothreshold is exceeded. The user and/or trading firm is penalized becausea larger amount of order messages have been sent when compared with atotal number of fills that have been achieved.

In some examples, where a reward system is implemented, a user and/ortrading firm is rewarded (e.g., with a monetary amount) when a messageratio threshold is exceeded. The user and/or trading firm is rewardedbecause a larger amount of order fills have been achieved when comparedwith a total number of order messages that have been sent. Once theexcessive ratio handling is set, the process 600 ends and the examplemessaging monitoring and control system begins tracking order messagesaccording to the set message tracking settings.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method 700 formonitoring order messages and determining message ratios. The examplemethod 700 corresponds to blocks 504, 506, 508, and 510 of FIG. 5.Initially, the example messaging monitoring and control systemdetermines if an order message and/or fill confirmation has been sentand/or received (block 702). In some examples, the example messagingmonitoring and control system is implemented at a trading device andtracks when order messages are sent to an exchange and when fillconfirmations are received from the exchange. Additionally oralternatively, the example messaging monitoring and control system isimplemented at an exchange and tracks when order messages are receivedfrom a trading device and when fill confirmations are sent to thetrading device. Control remains at block 702 until an order messageand/or fill confirmation is sent and/or received.

Once an order message and/or a fill confirmation has been sent and/orreceived, the example messaging monitoring and control system identifiesa user associated with the order message and/or the fill confirmation(block 704). The example messaging monitoring and control system mayidentify an individual user (e.g., an individual trader), a tradingfirm, or both an individual user and a trading firm associated with theindividual user.

The example messaging monitoring and control system identifies a messagetype of the order message and/or the fill confirmation (block 706). Forexample, the example messaging monitoring and control system maydetermine that an order message is within the inside market. The examplemessaging monitoring and control system may determine that an ordermessage resulted in a fill based on the fill confirmation. The examplemessaging monitoring and control system may determine that an orderassociated with an order message is outside of the inside market. Theexample messaging monitoring and control system may determine how farthe order of the order message is from the inside market (e.g., 5 ticksaway). The example messaging monitoring and control system may determinethat an order message deletes an order within a threshold period of timefrom when the order was placed (e.g., the order was placed andimmediately deleted).

The example messaging monitoring and control system identifies a messageweight of the order message and/or the fill confirmation (block 708).The message weight is based on the message type determined at block 706.In some examples, a fill and an order message with an order in theinside market decreases the weighted order message total. An ordermessage with an order outside of the inside market is weighted as amultiple of one order message in the weighted order message total. Anorder message may be weighted more heavily the farther the order of theorder message is from the inside market (e.g., an order message with anorder one tick from the inside market counts as one order message and anorder message with an order two ticks from the inside market counts asone and one half order messages).

The example messaging monitoring and control system updates a messageratio based on the message weight (block 710). In some examples, theweighted order message total decreases when a fill is achieved (e.g.,decreases by one) or when an order associated with an order message iswithin the inside market (e.g., decreases by one half). The weightedmessage total may be increased by a multiple of one when an orderassociated with an order message is outside of the inside market (e.g.,increases by one, one and one half, etc.). Once the message ratio isupdated, the process 700 ends and the message ratio is analyzed asdescribed in connection with FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method 800 forpresenting a warning when a message ratio is approaching a message ratiothreshold. The example method 800 corresponds to optional block 512 ofFIG. 5 (e.g., the example method 800 may or may not be used in theexample method 500 of FIG. 5 to track messages). Initially, the examplemessaging monitoring and control system determines if a message ratiohas been updated (block 802). Message ratios are updated when ordermessages are sent and/or received. Control remains at block 802 until amessage ratio has been updated. If a message ratio has been updated, theexample messaging monitoring and control system determines if themessage ratio is approaching a message ratio threshold (block 804). Forexample, where a discipline system is implemented, the example messagingmonitoring and control system determines the message ratio isapproaching the message ratio threshold if the message ratio is within aparticular number of weighted order messages from the weighted ordermessage total defined in the message ratio threshold. Where a rewardsystem is implemented, the example messaging monitoring and controlsystem determines the message ratio is approaching the message ratiothreshold if the message ratio is within a particular number of fillsfrom the fill total defined in the message ratio threshold. If themessage ratio is not approaching the message ratio threshold, controlreturns to block 802. If the message ratio is approaching the messageratio threshold, the example messaging monitoring and control systemimplements an excessive ratio warning or alert (block 806). The examplemessaging monitoring and control system notifies a user that the messageratio is approaching the message ratio threshold (e.g., via a display ona trading device). Notifying the user that the message ratio isapproaching the message ratio threshold enables the user to altertrading strategies (e.g., including order messages) to avoid exceedingthe message ratio threshold and, thus, to avoid penalties associatedwith exceeding the message ratio threshold. Once the excessive ratiowarning has been implemented, control returns to block 802.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example messaging monitoringand control system 900 to facilitate tracking of order messages. Theexample messaging monitoring and control system 900 of the illustratedexample implements the example methods 500, 600, 700, and/or 800 ofFIGS. 5, 6, 7, and/or 8 to track order messages. In some examples, themessaging monitoring and control system 900 is implemented at a tradingdevice (e.g., the trading device 110 of FIG. 1). In some examples, themessaging monitoring and control system 900 is implemented at anexchange (e.g., the exchange 130 of FIG. 1). In some examples, a tradingdevice implements a messaging monitoring and control system 900 and anexchange implements a messaging monitoring and control system 900 andmessage tracking is cross- referenced between the trading device and theexchange. For example, if the exchange fines a trading firm using amessaging monitoring and control system 900, a trading firm may use amessaging monitoring and control system 900 at a trading device todetermine a particular user (e.g., trader) responsible for the fine.

The example messaging monitoring and control system 900 monitors ordermessages and/or fill confirmations that are sent and/or receivedbetween, for example, a trading device and an exchange, and calculates amessage ratio. The message ratio compares weighted message totals withfill totals. When an order message and/or fill confirmation is sentand/or received, the example messaging monitoring and control system 900determines if the order message and/or fill confirmation improves thetrading market. If an order message improves the trading market, themessage ratio is credited. If an order message does not improve thetrading market, the message ratio is debited. The message ratio is usedby the example messaging monitoring and control system 900 to implementwarnings, fines, rewards, etc. based on the message ratio. The tradingsystem 900 of the illustrated example includes an example settingsmodule 902, an example database 904, an example message identifyingmodule 906, an example ratio calculator module 908, an example thresholdcomparator module 910, and an example warning module 912.

The example settings module 902 sets message tracking settings. Messagetracking settings describe how the example messaging monitoring andcontrol system 900 is to be implemented. In some examples, the messagetracking settings describe how a message ratio is to be calculated. Insome examples, the message tracking settings describe message counts,message weights, message ratio thresholds, time periods for messagetracking, users to be tracked, etc. In some examples, the messagetracking settings are set at the example settings module 902 by users(e.g., traders), administrators, exchanges, trading firms, etc. In someexamples, the message tracking settings are set automatically at theexample settings module 902 (e.g., default values are used to implementthe messaging monitoring and control system 900). The message trackingsettings are stored at the database 904.

The example message identifying module 906 tracks and/or identifiesorder messages and fills. Once an order message and/or a fillconfirmation has been sent and/or received, the example messageidentifying module 906 identifies a user associated with the ordermessage and/or the fill confirmation. The example message identifyingmodule 906 identifies a message type of the order message and/or thefill confirmation. In some examples, the example messaging monitoringand control system 900 determines that an order associated with an ordermessage is within the inside market. In some examples, the examplemessaging monitoring and control system 900 determines that an orderassociated with an order message resulted in a fill based on the fillconfirmation. In some examples, the example messaging monitoring andcontrol system 900 determines that an order associated with an ordermessage is outside of the inside market. In some such examples, theexample messaging monitoring and control system 900 determines how farthe order of the order message is from the inside market (e.g., 5 ticksaway). In some examples, the example messaging monitoring and controlsystem 900 determines that an order message deletes an order within athreshold period of time from when the order was placed (e.g., the orderwas placed and immediately deleted).

The example ratio calculator module 908 calculates and/or updates amessage ratio based on the message weight. In some examples, a weightedorder message total of the message ratio is decreased by one when a fillis achieved and the weighted order message total of the message ratio isdecreased by a fraction of one (e.g., one half) when an order associatedwith an order message is within the inside market. The weighted ordermessage total may be increased by a multiple of one when an orderassociated with an order message is outside of the inside market.

The example threshold comparator module 910 determines if the messageratio exceeds the message ratio threshold. If the message ratio exceedsthe message ratio threshold (e.g., too many order messages have beensent that fail to improve and/or harm the trading market, enough fillshave been achieved to receive a reward, etc.), the example warningmodule 912 implements excessive message ratio handling. In someexamples, the example warning module 912 issues a notification to a userinforming the user that the message ratio associated with order messagesbeing sent by the user has exceeded the message ratio threshold. In someexamples, the notification is issued on a display of a trading deviceassociated with the user. In some examples, the example warning module912 issues a notification to a trading firm informing the trading firmthat the message ratio associated with order messages being sent by thetrading firm (e.g., by multiple traders of a single trading firm) hasexceeded the message ratio threshold. In some examples, the examplewarning module 912 issues a fine associated with the excessive messageratio to a user and/or trading firm. In some examples, the examplewarning module 912 issues a reward associated with the excessive messageratio to a user and/or trading firm.

Some of the described figures depict example block diagrams, systems,and/or flow diagrams representative of methods that may be used toimplement all or part of certain embodiments. One or more of thecomponents, elements, blocks, and/or functionality of the example blockdiagrams, systems, and/or flow diagrams may be implemented alone or incombination in hardware, firmware, discrete logic, as a set of computerreadable instructions stored on a tangible computer readable medium,and/or any combinations thereof, for example.

The example block diagrams, systems, and/or flow diagrams may beimplemented using any combination of application specific integratedcircuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)), fieldprogrammable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)), discrete logic, hardware, and/orfirmware, for example. Also, some or all of the example methods may beimplemented manually or in combination with the foregoing techniques,for example.

The example block diagrams, systems, and/or flow diagrams may beperformed using one or more processors, controllers, and/or otherprocessing devices, for example. For example, the examples may beimplemented using coded instructions, for example, computer readableinstructions, stored on a tangible computer readable medium. A tangiblecomputer readable medium may include various types of volatile andnon-volatile storage media, including, for example, random access memory(RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM),electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electricallyerasable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, a hard disk drive,optical media, magnetic tape, a file server, any other tangible datastorage device, or any combination thereof. The tangible computerreadable medium is non-transitory.

Further, although the example block diagrams, systems, and/or flowdiagrams are described above with reference to the figures, otherimplementations may be employed. For example, the order of execution ofthe components, elements, blocks, and/or functionality may be changedand/or some of the components, elements, blocks, and/or functionalitydescribed may be changed, eliminated, sub-divided, or combined.Additionally, any or all of the components, elements, blocks, and/orfunctionality may be performed sequentially and/or in parallel by, forexample, separate processing threads, processors, devices, discretelogic, and/or circuits.

While embodiments have been disclosed, various changes may be made andequivalents may be substituted. In addition, many modifications may bemade to adapt a particular situation or material. Therefore, it isintended that the disclosed technology not be limited to the particularembodiments disclosed, but will include all embodiments falling withinthe scope of the appended claims.

1. (canceled)
 2. A method comprising: determining whether an order tobuy or sell a tradeable object at a price is directed to an insidemarket of the tradeable object being traded at an electronic exchange;decreasing a message ratio corresponding to a trading entity associatedwith the order if the order is directed to the inside market, whereinthe message ratio compares an order message total to a fill total;increasing the message ratio if the order is directed away from theinside market; determining if the message ratio satisfies a messageratio threshold; and implementing message ratio handling if the messageratio satisfies the message ratio threshold.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein the order is determined to be directed to the inside market ifthe order is filled.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the order isdetermined to be directed away from the inside market if the order isdeleted within a threshold period of time from the order being placed atthe electronic exchange.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the messagetotal is decreased when the order is filled.
 6. The method of claim 2,wherein the fill total is increased when the order is filled.
 7. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the message total is decreased when the orderis directed to the inside market.
 8. The method of claim 2, wherein themessage total is increased when the order is directed away from theinside market.
 9. The method of claim 2, wherein the fill total isincreased when the order is directed to the inside market.
 10. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the order message total to a fill totalcomprises a weighted message total to a fill total determined based on aweighing factor.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the weighing factoris an integer.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the weighing factoris a fraction.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the weighing factoris variable.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein the weighing factorincreases based on a distance of the order from the inside market. 15.The method of claim 2, wherein increasing the message ratio comprisesapplying a weighing factor to increase the message ratio.
 16. The methodof claim 2, wherein decreasing the message ratio comprises applying aweighing factor to decrease the message ratio.
 17. The method of claim2, wherein the message ratio threshold defines a limit of an ordermessage total per fill total.
 18. The method of claim 2, whereinimplementing message ratio handling includes at least one ofimplementing a fine, suspending a user associated with the ordermessage, or implementing a reward.
 19. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: providing a warning to the trading entity associated withthe order if the message ratio approaches the message ratio threshold.20. The method of claim 2, further comprising: decreasing the messageratio upon detecting a cancellation of the order during a predeterminedperiod of time.
 21. The method of claim 2, wherein the trading entityincludes a trader.
 22. The method of claim 2, wherein the trading entityincludes a trading firm.